WOW! Where did October go? Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the Official Launch of Essentially Stocked! Well, you know what they say..."Time Flies When You're Having Fun"...am I right?!

Speaking of time seemingly evaporating into thin air...so too will October's Images. When that clock strikes midnight tonight on Hallow's Eve, the October Downloads will evaporate into the night air. So if you haven't yet downloaded your images...please make sure to do that tonight!!!

But don't worry Friends...the November Essentially Stocked Images will take their place at 12:01am, full of fresh new photos, ready for your creative genius to transform them into your next post card design, social media graphics, or seasonal update for your website. One member of the ES Community mentioned she's set up a recurring reminder on the 1st of every month to download the latest Essentially Stocked releases.  We think she's pretty smart!!

Ohhhh Wait...one more thing, we at Essentially Stocked not only want to keep your gallery full of fresh new imagery but we'd also like to help you use those images to the best of your ability. That's why we will be creating a series of blog posts to teach you all about stock photography and how it can impact the success of your social media and brand strategies.

​Keep An Eye Out for our upcoming blog post:
Maximize Your Stock Photography: How to turn a single image into a variety of different image variations! 

Hey there Friends!

Welcome to our very 1st Blog Post focusing on Tips & Tricks on how YOU, our super cool ES Community, can strengthen your graphic game! Our focus in this post is to show you how to up level your investment and turn a single image into a whole brand package. It's kinda like tripling or even quadrupling your investment and that's just good math!

Two of the things that set our Essentially Stocked photography apart from the rest is the care and attention to details of the styling and the crisp high resolution of our images.  
But how does this benefit you?  
Well, we want you to maximize the benefits from your investment and in order to do that...we need to show you how to turn a few top notch images into a gallery of options for your blog, website, post cards, as well as,  graphics on your social media platforms! We challenge you to take one of our styled photographs and see just how many different cropped variations you can create to use for your projects. 

Here are a few tips to getting the most variations out of your images using simple, easy Photoshop or Canva edits!


1. Crop the Image, Focus on Specific Elements of the Image.
We stand by the fact that our images are of the highest quality so that you can crop into them and hone in on the tiniest of details. You can take one styled image and simply by zooming in, cropping into various elements and details, you're able to create dozens of new images that all feel consistent with your branding! These super close up variations are excellent for social media and galleries for your website.

2. Create a Whole New Look by Flipping the Image Horizontally, Vertically or even Diagonally!
It sounds simple but by changing the orientation of the image and rotating it around, you can crop in and create even MORE images! Now you have images with props in different orientations and compositions, making additional images that feel fresh! This also helps to create more or less negative space to overlay other elements or text as part of your brand message. 

3. Add YOU! Now it's time to add overlays, color blocks and text for more variations!
It's a proven fact that images with text naturally perform better and often get more click through traffic on social media! Take a simple image variation that you've created for your website header, personalize it and elevate it to another level by overlaying text for posting to social media! We do this in Photoshop or InDesign but theres no reason why easy to use apps like Canva or PicMonky wouldn't help you do this quickly and easily as well! This is your chance to add your message, create a call to action, or just interject all the awesomeness that is YOU!
There you have it, three very simple ways that even the most novice Essentially Stocked subscribers can get the most use out of their styled stock photography! Now that you have some new tools in your Essentially Stocked Toolbelt, grab your favorite image and start playing!
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We would love to hear how many images YOU were able to get out of a single Essentially Stocked image and what programs you like to use to work with the images!  Tell us your thoughts in the comments below along with any other suggestions you have to help other Essentially Stocked subscribers get the most out of their images!

Watch for our NEXT Blog Post where we will show you how to utilize Canva to add text, image overlays, and  anything else your heart desires to your Essentially Stocked Photography!